Proclamation

Whereas, domestic violence impacts countless New Yorkers, including children and adults, without regard to age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status; and

Whereas, the physical, emotional and psychological harm that domestic violence victims suffer also negatively impacts the communities in which they live and work; and

Whereas, in New York State, more than 280,000 calls were made to domestic violence and sexual assault hotlines in 2014; and

Whereas, New York State courts report that more than 202,000 orders of protection were entered in the Domestic Violence Registry, as such entry is required by law; and

Whereas, in 2014, nearly 29,000 of assaults reported to police agencies outside of New York City were committed by intimate partners, and the particularly intimate form of violence – strangulation – was charged more than 12,000 times in the state; statewide, local probation departments saw a 20% increase in new domestic violence cases added to their caseloads; and

Whereas, recognizing that over a third of women are homeless due to domestic violence, New York State is committed to the provision of transitional housing for these victims; New York State continues to support criminal justice, human services, and healthcare strategies to increase safety of all domestic violence victims through the development of webinars and training, and also supports a network of staff at all state agencies and authorities trained to respond to issues of domestic violence in the workplace; and

Whereas, New Yorkers rely on the state’s network of domestic violence programs to provide a range of essential services; in 2014, domestic violence programs in New York provided residential services to nearly 14,000 victims and children and non-residential services to over 41,000 victims and children; and

Whereas, New York State acknowledges that awareness and education are critical components of prevention and therefore strives to increase the public’s knowledge of domestic violence through various projects, including producing a video and social media campaign on teen dating violence entitled “#ICanDoSomething, collaborating on initiatives such as the state’s annual “Shine the Light on Domestic Violence” campaign, providing educational and public awareness resources to guests at the Great New York State Fair, producing informational materials, and continually increasing and enhancing outreach through social media; and

Whereas, New Yorkers join with all Americans in supporting victims of domestic violence, and believe that there would be worthy achievements in awareness and prevention of domestic violence reached through implementation of a month-long observance specifically focusing on supporting the work of public and private entities that strive to provide the best coordinated response to domestic violence in communities across this state; this observance helps to reinforce the loud and clear message to abusers that domestic violence is not tolerated in New York;

Now, Therefore, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby proclaim October 2015 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the Empire State.

Given under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the City of Albany this first day of October in the year two thousand fifteen.